Rajani Chronicles I

by Brian S. Converse

  “Don’t tell me you’re into Opera?” Yvette asked, rolling her eyes.

  “I didn’t say that,” Gianni answered, no longer smiling. “But if you’re going to listen to it, why settle for the pop version?” He stood up and began walking around the room. “What the hell are we doing here, anyway?” he finally asked to no one in particular.

  “Waiting for James and Rauph to come back,” Kieren answered.

  “We should have told Rauph to shove it,” Gianni complained, turning toward the others. “Instead, we’re stuck here going stir crazy while James goes to the space port. It’s bullshit.”

  “No, what’s bullshit is your attitude,” David said. “Stop being such a selfish prick.”

  “What did you call me, you little asshole?” Gianni asked, turning toward David and clenching his fists.

  “I called you a selfish prick,” David said, standing up and facing the other man, and clenching his own hands into fists.

  “Uh-oh,” Yvette said. She looked at Kieren, who had a stunned look on her face at the prospect of violence between the two men. “The testosterone is getting pretty thick in here.”

  “What the hell is your problem?” David asked. “You’re such a jerk to all of us. You act like we’re beneath you or something, and I’m sick of it.”

  “David,” Kieren began.

  “No,” he said, still looking at Gianni. “I’ve taken enough abuse from this dick. I’m sick of his shitty attitude.”

  “Oh,” Gianni said, smiling. There was no humor in it. “What are you going to do about it, tough guy?”

  “Boys, that’s enough,” Yvette said.

  “No, it’s not,” David said, still looking at Gianni. “You want to fight? Is that it? I’ll fight you right now.”

  Yvette stood and quickly stepped between the two men. “Now you listen to me,” she said, looking at David. She turned to look at Gianni. “Both of you. If we’re going to get through this, we can’t be acting like teenagers having a pissing contest.” Kieren gasped silently, surprised at the other woman’s language.

  “Now,” Yvette continued, looking at David, “I’m sure there was a good reason why Rauph asked James to go with him. Like maybe the fact that he can turn invisible?” She looked once more at Gianni. “I can see why he wouldn’t want to take you with him. You’d probably get us all locked up or thrown off the space port.”

  “Hey,” Gianni protested, frowning.

  “We are going to wait,” Yvette continued, ignoring Gianni, “and we will wait patiently. If you want to complain, do it somewhere else.” She turned to David. “If you really want to fight, then bring it on. ’Cause I’ll kick both your asses if you don’t cut this shit out right now.”

  David looked at her, his eyes wide in surprise. “But he—”

  “He nothing,” she said. “We all need to learn to live with each other on this tin can. I’m sure James would tell you the same thing. We cannot be fighting each other when the real enemy is still out there.” She pointed with her left arm vaguely in the direction of the door. “Do you understand me, gentlemen?”

  “Fine,” Gianni muttered, his arms crossed before him.

  “Fine,” David said, walking toward the doorway. “I’ll be in my room.”

  “Good, I’m glad we have that settled,” Yvette said, returning to her chair and picking up her tablet. She glanced at Kieren, who had a look of surprise mixed with awe on her face. “Oh, and personally, I’ve always preferred Elvis,” she said, smiling.

  #

  Rauph wasn’t pleased after his meeting with Zazzil. The loss of the Tukuli’s lander was especially difficult. He’d have to land the Tukuli on Rajan when they finally returned. It wasn’t the landing so much as taking off again that worried him. The fuel it would take to leave the planet would cost a fortune on the off-market where the Rajani were forced to trade. He sighed as he made his way through the various corridors and the hydrolift on the space port. It couldn’t be helped, of course. Nothing was as important as returning to Rajan. How things played out from there could be worked out later.

  Rauph came to a sudden stop when he reached the main concourse. A group of uniformed aliens were sitting at a table at one of the shops, eating and drinking. There was a palpable tension in the area around them, and everyone was keeping a safe distance.

  ASPs, Rauph thought. Wonderful. He stood and watched the Alliance Society for Peace officers a moment. He didn’t think he’d been spotted, but he wasn’t going to take any chances. He quickly turned and headed back the way he’d come. It would take a little longer to get back to the ship, but would be worth it if he didn’t wind up being interrogated by the official regulating force of the Galactic Alliance. Seeing a Rajani this far from his home planet would be enough for them to start asking questions.

  There was no refuting the fact they were in their own jurisdiction—all of Alliance space was their domain. It was their job to keep the peace between members of the Alliance. It didn’t mean they didn’t have their own ideas of the meaning of the word ‘peace,’ or there weren’t political agendas and motivations behind everything they did.

  He’d walked for a short time and had almost reached the elevators once again when it occurred to him he had not made sure Officer Dempsey was still following him after his about-face at the concourse. He stopped walking.

  “Dempsey?” he whispered, making sure no one was around in the corridor close enough to eavesdrop.

  There was no answer.

  “Dempsey?” he said, a little louder, feeling panic well up inside. Still no answer.

  Rauph wasn’t sure if he should return to the ship and hope the Human would find his way back, or head back to the concourse so Dempsey could find him. Of course, this would also increase the chances of him being confronted by the ASPs. He stood there a moment, feeling his heart rate increase at the thought of being questioned by the ASPs. He would have to make a choice.

  #

  James was surprised at the various smells permeating the air of the Mandakan Space Port. Most were strange to him, but some were almost familiar. Above the noise of alien languages, he could hear a low thrumming sound and feel a stir in the atmosphere; a consistent gust of cool air every few minutes. He guessed the station must employ some type of air filtration system to cut down on airborne viruses and bacteria brought aboard by the hundreds of ships docked there.

  James visited Las Vegas once, soon after he’d been married. He’d gone with a couple of fellow Marines for a three-day weekend, and was surprised to find he didn’t like it at all. From the moment he’d arrived, he could sense an air of desperation from his fellow gamblers. The casinos were more like traps for the weak-willed than providers of simple games of chance. Now he felt the same desperation aboard this alien version of Vegas. Maybe they weren’t as different as he’d first thought.

  He had not meant to become separated from Rauph. It sort of happened by accident. He’d observed as Rauph had stopped upon seeing the uniformed aliens eating and drinking together. He’d been fascinated, guessing almost immediately what they must be, but also knowing why Rauph wanted to avoid them. If the justice process was anywhere near as slow as it was in his precinct, they could be there a long time if the police took a sudden interest in them.

  Most of the aliens were bipedal in nature, although one looked like he (she?) had paws instead of hands. One looked like an octopus, but with more appendages, each ending in tiny three-fingered hands. James smiled, wondering how the creature got dressed and if shirts with twelve armholes were difficult to find.

  He looked back at Rauph, only to find the Rajani had already moved on. James walked down the concourse a few steps, attempting to see the tall Rajani amongst the rest of the alien life. He looked back the other way, and still no Rauph.

  “Damn,” he said quietly—yet loud enough for a small, furry alien walking near him to jump and look around, confused. James moved on hurriedly, trying to remember which direction led to the Tukuli. Fina
lly, he made up his mind and walked in the direction he thought they had come from first. He couldn’t very well make himself visible and ask the nearest alien for directions. Alien languages pervaded the concourse, and none of them sounded even remotely like English. He walked along, trying his best not to run into anything, and was successful more often than not.

  Either by chance or by the fact he truly did remember the direction to go, he soon found himself at the security checkpoint. He noticed everyone leaving the space port was subject to the same strict security check as those entering. A long line of aliens waited to gain entry to the docking section of the station, but still no Rauph.

  It wasn’t right. He hadn’t been far behind the Rajani. If Rauph had returned to the docking section, he should have still been waiting in line. James turned and retraced his steps to the concourse. When he finally reached it, he saw that all hell had broken loose.

  #

  David had never been one to go against authority; at least, not until the last few months back on Earth. He had been so scared of his father while growing up, he hadn’t dared step out of line, not even as a teenager. He’d done it a few times as a young boy, and the punishments had been severe. He thought he had escaped when he’d been accepted to Michigan State and received a scholarship to play football, but had quickly learned he’d traded one petty dictator for another.

  In the short time before he injured his knee, he learned to hate his head coach, a big fish in a small pond who thought his every word was holy law. He’d almost been relieved when his knee buckled beneath the weight of two linebackers after he’d made an acrobatic catch in a game. Then back to his father, and all that entailed.

  As he walked down the corridor of the Tukuli toward his room, still fuming from his fight and fingering the tattoo on his lower abdomen, he thought of Gianni and decided he was tired of always playing along and doing the right thing, even if it wasn’t exactly right for him. It wasn’t difficult to sneak off the ship. The others were still together in the common room, and Janan and Bhakat were still on the bridge for all he knew. Even if he set off an alarm when he opened the ship’s hatch, he knew they wouldn’t pursue him. They were following orders.

  #

  Rauph had returned to the end of the long corridor aboard the space port and looked hopefully at the tables outside the bar. Unfortunately, the ASPs were still there. He knew he should head back to the ship and hope that Dempsey would do the same, but he couldn’t take the chance the Human had either become lost, or worse, somehow been captured. Dempsey was critical to their mission to save Rajan. If it had been one of the other Humans, he might have left them, but not their leader. Officer Dempsey was the only one he had even a modicum of trust in.

  He felt something walk up behind him and stop. Before he could turn, he felt a hand placed gently on his back.

  “Rauphangelaa,” a voice whispered. “We’ve been monitoring your situation. Do you require our assistance?”

  Rauph could tell that it was the Makerfy, Zazzil’s security chief. He breathed a sigh of relief and said, “I cannot afford to be seen by the ASPs, but I don’t think I can return to my ship any other way.” A small lie, but better to appear ignorant than tell them he had lost his Human companion.

  “Then I suggest a diversion,” the Makerfy said. Rauph could almost see the smile on the Makerfy’s face at the word ‘diversion.’

  “That would be beneficial,” he agreed, still not turning to look at the creature.

  “Wait for the signal before you move,” the Makerfy told him. “You will know what it is when it happens.”

  “Are you sure?” Rauph asked, still uncertain.

  “Oh, yes, I am sure,” the Makerfy replied.

  “Then you have my thanks,” Rauph said.

  “It does Zazzil little good if his clients are obstructed by the ASPs,” the Makerfy said. “At least until they pay. Of course, this may delay our work on your ship.”

  “That is acceptable,” Rauph said softly, hoping it wouldn’t be too long of a delay and wondering what the signal was going to be.

  The Makerfy moved away silently. It was only a few minutes before Rauph found out the Makerfy’s plans. He watched as a large creature, taller than him, and heavier, with a large beak for a face under small eyes, and hard plates covering its body, walked up to the table of ASPs and punched the nearest officer with one of its thickly muscled arms.

  The reaction was like a bomb exploding. Suddenly, all of the ASPs were on their feet (or other various appendages), except for the one who had been on the receiving end of the punch, who was now out cold and lying on the floor of the eatery. In their haste to get to the large, plated alien, the ASPs began tossing chairs and patrons indiscriminately. In short order, there was a full-scale riot as ASPs and various customers at the establishment began fighting.

  Rauph was amazed at the chaos that had erupted in such a short period of time. He said a prayer of thanks and quickly walked down the concourse toward the docking area. He felt like he was swimming against the tide as most of the inhabitants of the station seemed to be heading toward the fight, either out of curiosity, or a desire to join in. Cheap entertainment, he thought as he was being jostled and assaulted by the various aliens in his path.

  Suddenly, the jostling stopped. A space opened ahead of him, and the push of aliens parted a short distance directly in front of him. Could it be Dempsey? His chest felt like a large weight had been removed from it at the possibility. He quickly followed and found himself waiting in line at the security checkpoint.

  It was only a matter of moments before he was through the checkpoint. Many who had been waiting in line had heard of the commotion and headed toward it, leaving the line considerably shorter. Rauph walked quickly to the Tukuli. He entered the security code and stepped through the hatch when it opened. After it closed, he waited anxiously for Officer Dempsey to appear, and finally, he did. Rauph breathed a large sigh of relief and sat down on the nearby bench.

  “Well,” Dempsey said, “that was interesting.”

  Rauph could only shake his head and wait for his heart to stop racing. It felt like it would explode if it didn’t slow down; a sensation bordering on painful.

  Interlude

  Lisa turned the key in the lock and opened the apartment door before she had second thoughts. She had never been in David’s apartment without him being there. He’d never given her a key to it, either. She’d had to plead with the super to borrow his copy, explaining that David was missing, and she was looking for any clues that might help the police discover his whereabouts. The super had finally relented, and she’d made her way up to his second-floor apartment.

  It had irked her when she had presented a key to her apartment to him after they had been going out for six months, and he hadn’t reciprocated. At the time, she had chalked it up to his need for privacy; she had come to realize that he was a very private person. But it had stayed in the back of her mind—his unwillingness to completely trust her. She knew it was partly the reason she had turned down his marriage proposal. She wasn’t sure she was ready to marry a man with such trust issues.

  She blamed Jeb mostly, knowing what an overbearing ass the man was, but it didn’t change the fact that David had some things he needed to work out before she said yes. Perhaps it was where he was now, holed up somewhere or in some private clinic getting professional counseling. She hoped so. The alternatives were too depressing to think about.

  His apartment looked exactly the way she remembered it from the last time she was there, and it didn’t look like anyone had been in it recently. There were things growing in the refrigerator that looked like they would soon bear fruit. She quickly closed the fridge door, unwilling to think about cleaning up such a mess. She made her way to his bedroom and saw the various mounds of clothes, some clean and some dirty, she guessed. Again, although the bed wasn’t made, it didn’t look like it had been slept in recently.

  She had made up her mind to leave when she
noticed his cell phone sitting on his bedside table. That couldn’t be a good sign. The red light was blinking, meaning he probably had messages on his voicemail. She hesitated a moment, deciding whether she should check it in case it held any clues to his whereabouts. Finally, she decided she should and called his voicemail.

  “You have three new messages,” the female voice said.

  She pressed 1, and heard Jeb screaming. She quickly pushed 9 to erase the message. Then it was a recording reminding David to pay his electric bill. She was beginning to zone out when the message ended and a female voice began to speak.

  “Hey, babe,” the voice said, giggling. “Give me a call back. I miss you.” The message ended with more giggling. She reached for the delete button, thinking it was a wrong number, but then hesitated. Was it really? Could she be entirely sure?

  She felt tears come to her eyes when she realized that she couldn’t. She dropped the phone and hurriedly left his apartment, wondering if she’d made a mistake—not only looking in on him, but about their entire relationship.

  Chapter Eight

  James’s heartbeat had finally returned to a semblance of normalcy when Bhakat’s voice came over the ship’s communication system. “Rauphangelaa, please report to the bridge immediately. We have a situation that requires your attention. Bring James with you.”

  James saw Rauph close his eyes and mutter a silent prayer. “What now?” he asked.

  Rauph didn’t respond, he only stood and motioned for James to follow him. When they finally made it to the bridge, not only were Bhakat and Janan there, but also Yvette, Kieren, and Gianni, all of them looking unhappy.

  “We have a situation,” Bhakat said, his words automatically translated by the device set up in the corner.

  Someone must have come to the airlock to get it after Rauph and I left, James thought.

  “Bhakat, what’s wrong?” Rauph asked, sounding out of breath after the rush to get to the bridge.

  “We’re missing someone,” Bhakat answered, looking at a readout on his control panel.